Welcome back to those of you who were able to get away over the summer! The Chamber is back on deck, having already started our Autumn programme with a fantastic morning at Huckletree Shoreditch on September 6th with our first Innovation Talks event of the year, AI in Financial Markets, where we talked about the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence (including whether it really exists!). This week we also had a wonderful evening at Chelsea Football Club for the 10th Annual International Chambers of Commerce Tasting Event. The Little Creatures Pale Ale featured at the Australian stand was very popular, with even the Japanese delegation from Asahi saying it was their favourite on the night.
We were also privileged to be hosted by our Patron, H.E. the Hon George Brandis QC, Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, at his private residence Stoke Lodge. The High Commissioner gave our Chartered Members an exclusive insight into the progress being made towards a post-Brexit Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement and his reflections on his first five months in office.
The team and I have been working hard on bringing you a varied programme of events and I’m delighted that the next couple of months will feature part two of our incredibly popular Going Home series, as well as the annual Australia-New Zealand Cocktail Reception, and briefing and networking events focussed on Australia’s infrastructure pipeline, the UK Budget and insights into the Australian and New Zealand economies.
The Chamber will also be participating in the Department of International Trade stakeholder consultations on a future FTA with Australia and I would encourage our Members and network to make sure your priorities and interests are represented either through the online consultations, or by reaching out to me and the team for a meeting to discuss your trade agendas.
As you will see below, this is a hugely busy time for the Chamber and the Australia-UK relationship and I look forward to seeing many of you over the next few months either at an event or here at the Chamber.
Best regards,
Elizabeth Ames
Executive Director, Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce
